Russian Finance Minister Kudrin: 2009 Worst Year Since World War 2

Happy new year 2009: Finance minister Kudrin promises us a deficit of the Russian state budget as huge as RUR 1.5 - 2 trillion (USD 51bn - 69bn).

"2009 will be the hardest year for Russian and global economy. It will be the worst year since the end of World War 2", Mr. Kudrin said.

// http://www.vz.ru/news/2008/12/27/242613.html


Inflation will rise but the government still does not plan cuts in financing the construction of Sochi 2014 Olympic infrastructure.
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Russians protest against the government rising automobile import duties

Russian car-owners protest against the government's plan to seriously rise import duties for automobiles starting 1 January 2009. Mass protests started in the Far Eastern regions where the majority drives Japanese cars.

People say the rising of import duties was lobbied by Russian car makers (AvtoVAZ and GAZ and probably foreign players who have production facilities in Russia: Chrysler, Ford, Renault, Nissan, Peugeot-Citroen, GM, Toyota, Volkswagen).

I just found an other reason not to buy myself a car in the coming spring :,)

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Kremlin-backed liberal party to attempt spoiling of the radical opposition's rally?

As usual, Kremlin-created kinda-liberal kinda-opposition parties turn out to act as spoilers for the radical democratic opposition.

This time, the newly created pro-Kremlin liberal party "Pravoe Delo" organizes a demonstration on Moscow's Pushkinskaya square on the same day and almost at the same time when the radical opposition marches from Triumfalnaya sq.



It just couldn't have been more predictable. It's so sad to see a bright and talented man like Euroset founder Evgeny Chichvarkin involved in this thing. This is my first "minus one" sympathy point for Pravoe Delo.

No chance for them to win sympathy of Russian liberals if they keep on acting as a spoiler party for the democratic opposition, no matter how good or bad the latter is.
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Unemployment in Chechnya over 65%

An impressive number: according to the Russian governmental statistics service, 65.3% of the population of the sadly known republic of Chechnya is unemployed (Source).

I wonder what all those people are just doing out there? Probably, a large part of the employed is simply working for the local government or in local military units (police, president Kadyrov's private guard etc). The unemployed must mostly be living from shadow economy or own-grown food.

Since the end of the Chechen war, the republic keeps living on subsidies from the Federal government that keep the former rebels from starting a new war again. As oil price has already shrunk below all pessimistic forecasts, and so may the state budget of Russia, hot times may come back to North Caucasus.
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